Mizuki Rikuo
by FireD.Rion
Summary: Nura Rikuo lives in a different world, now known as Mizuki Rikuo.
1. The Strange Infant I found in The Rain

A/N:

The real author of this work gave me permission to translate her work, and can be found in pixiv with the id 9582444.

She said she will most likely not be updating this story any longer, but I will post what she has written. Things to note are that Rikuo and the Nurarihyon that exists in the GeGeGe world are separate beings. The characters are not really in character either.

Work is cross posted on ao3.

I don't own this work, GeGeGe no Kitaro, or Nurarihyon no Mago.

* * *

After five years of marriage, my wife suddenly experienced a strong pain in her lower stomach. She was taken to the hospital, and was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She had always bled abnormally, and she had noticed that it had gotten worse these days. But working as a teacher, she was unable to find time to go see a doctor in a while.

We didn't have any children. As this was our fifth year together, we were just talking about getting one. After being diagnosed, my wife desperately tried to find a way to retain her ability to become pregnant. She visited many different clinics, but they all told her it was too late. She would need to go through with the surgery, or she will die. She cried the day before her operation, apologizing for being unable to bare my child.

I would never blame my wife. This was my responsibility as well. If I had paid more attention, I would have been able to notice that she was unwell. I never forced her to go to a hospital. She always smiled and told me that she was fine, and I valued her opinion. If only I had forced her to go see a doctor. Maybe something would have changed? Maybe I would have been able to spare her the sorrow?

But thinking about what if situations wouldn't give her back what she considered to be important. Talking about it would only hurt her more.

The only thing I could do was to try and comfort my grieving wife.

* * *

Time passed by, and she was able to go back to work. She had started to show some of the bright smiles that I saw, back when we first decided to marry.

But she would sometimes look down at her stomach, now baring a scar, with saddened eyes. I knew she would heal with time, but she would most likely continue to be saddened at the sight in the future.

But then one night, as I was thinking about ways to cheer her up and not be trapped in her sadness, something happened.

That day, I was later than the usual time I get out of work, which was usually past 10 P.M. A thunderstorm had started, even though the weather forecast predicted no such thing. I had tried to grab a taxi, but there were none on the usually busy streets, and I had tried to phone someone for a ride, but none of them would go through.

With no other choice, I took out my fold-able umbrella from my work bag, and started walking home. But on the way, the strong wind broke the umbrella, and ripped it out of my hands.

The umbrella was blown into a dense forest.

...Huh?

I had taken a short cut to get home as fast as possible, but I didn't remember any forest like this near my house. I don't know who owned the land, but it seemed like it had not been touched by human hands in many years. Even in the day when the sun shined brightly, this forest would have felt creepy. I could hear the thunder from far away, and it seemed to loom over me, like an opening to a different world.

Under normal circumstances, I would go to pick up my broken umbrella because it would be considered illegal littering to leave it there. But even I would have hesitated, considering the danger of going into such an eerie forest without a light. I would have left the umbrella and walked home, putting as much distance as possible between us.

But. I heard a faint noise among the heavy rain.

"... A baby?"

I thought my ears were deceiving me. The rain was pouring down so much that it sounded like a bucket being dumped upside down. I would not have been able to hear my own voice clearly, much less a crying baby. But I could definitely hear the faint cries. I knew it was not possible, but my feet were moving into the forest before I even registered the action.

I used the flash light mode of my newly bought waterproof phone, a system that I have never used before.

The forest was darker, and damper than I had anticipated. The eeriness increased, and I kept moving forward, trying not to slip on the muddy grass. The sight of me intently moving through the forest would have seemed like I was being possessed from another's perspective.

It was after a few minutes of walking, and I started to think that my bag was getting to be a hindrance.

"Wha-!?"

Right as my attention went from the rough animal trails to the bag I was holding, my leg slipped. Through the tall grass, I hadn't realized that trail stopped abruptly and formed a small cliff. As it was dark, and I was not even paying attention, I fell straight down.

* * *

I woke up with a dull pain throughout my body. The rain was still falling, soaking me with no reservation. I remembered falling off of the cliff before losing consciousness. My body felt bruised, but I hadn't hit my head, nor had I broken anything. I was lucky it hadn't been worse.

I could tell that my phone, the only source of light, was near my head and still shining. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and got up slowly. In order to get my phone and take a look around to assess the situation, I opened my eyes and-

"!?"

I almost screamed.

There, sitting in front of me, was a naked baby boy. The infant didn't look to be any older than one.

I froze with surprise, unable to make a sound or movement, and just stared at him. Large brown eyes, the same shade as his short, wet hair, stared up at me. What is it with this child? But before I became suspicious about what a naked infant was doing in the middle of the forest, I remembered the reason why I ventured in in the first place.

"... Were you the one who called me?"

The baby tilted his head, and made little babbling noises, as if to answer me. Maybe it was a coincidence?

"Come here. You're going to catch a cold and die if you stay like this."

While it was the end of September, and the warmth was still there, even an adult would catch a cold if they were out in such a rainy weather. Being covered with mud all over was bad enough for my hygiene, it would be worse for infants, with their softer skin and weaker body.

Placing my phone in my breast pocket so that only the light will stick out, I took my wallet out of the bag and stuck it into my pants pocket. The bag was a hindrance, and I was leaving it behind. Maybe I'll come pick it up when I get the chance to come back.

Walking closer to the child still staring up at me, I carefully knelt down, making sure to not drop my phone. I hesitated picking up the infant while he was still naked, but there was no dry cloth to wrap him with, and a wet one will only get him sick. So, I awkwardly picked him up, and stood up. While I was unsure if this was a dream or not, picking the infant up allowed me to feel the fragility and warmth of his body. Most of all, I could feel his steady heartbeat.

It sunk into me, that he was really alive.

"...Hey, what's your name? Do you have a name?"

I have never picked up a baby before, and it must have felt awkward for the infant as well. But he didn't cry and he let himself be picked up. Being encouraged by this, I let my question slip out, and felt embarrassed about it later. What am I doing asking the infant his name? He is probably not even one, he wouldn't be able to speak.

"Ri~Kyo~"

As if to deny common sense, and what little sanity I had left, the tiny infant in my arms spoke something close to a name.

"...Rikuo? Is that your name?"

"Da~!"

I never expected him to answer me, and I felt like fainting. I actually thought about fainting and denying reality, but I was able to pull myself together.

Oh god, this is one heck of a find. What am I going to tell my wife? Right now, I just want to go home, take off my muddy cloths, and take a hot bath.

* * *

After talking it over carefully, my wife and I decided to adopt the he child I picked up in the woods, and named him "Mizuki Rikuo". After things calmed down, I went to go and find the bag I left in the forest back then. But when I followed road I remembered, instead of a forest, I found an empty land. Thinking back on it, there were no forests as large as that in my neighborhood. Or in this city.

But then, on that stormy night, where was I?


	2. As I thought, the child was not normal

A/N: Its interesting that Kitaro is one of the classics in Japan, yet the fandom is so small. The Nura fandom is not that large either. I hope this work can peak some interests in people, so they would at least check it out.

* * *

It has been eleven years since I found the infant. After discussing it with my wife, we made him our adopted son, though it took a while to do so legally, as we found him in the woods. Afterwards, I had a chilling experience when I went to look for my bag and I found vacant land instead of the forest. It felt like I experienced something from a horror story.

For the two of us who thought that we would never get to raise child, and were thus unprepared for one, Rikuo was a calm child that caused no trouble. It was so different from the taxing experience of raising a child that they have heard about from many others. A lot of my wife's friends asked how we raised such a good child. Both my mother and my wife's mothers even told us that they were worried that he was too much of a good child.

He doesn't cry, doesn't act selfish. He doesn't trouble other people, and treat others with equal amounts of kindness and he listens to instructions well. To top it all off, he was good at both his studies and sports.

To say it nicely, he was a very good child. To put it bluntly, he was a child who did not act like one.

But something came up recently.

We found out that he goes out somewhere every night.

Under normal circumstances, we would have thoroughly scolded him, or worried about him being associated with bad friends. But that was if he was normal.

My wife and I knew he was not normal for a long time. Heck, I knew even before I found him

That was probably why my wife, who knew he went out at night, didn't say anything. She most likely wanted to wait until he said something himself.

But we couldn't keep it up forever.

My wife began to worry that every time we pretend to not see, Rikuo would go further, and further away from us to somewhere we could not follow.

If it was making her worry so much, I told her, why not we just ask him ourselves to ease up our worry? And so, before she could change her mind, I decided to ask him.

"I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight."

"Rikuo, wait a moment."

"What is it?"

"We want to talk to you about something."

It was a little past nine at night. I stopped Rikuo, a little smaller than the average boy of his age, who wearing blue pajamas and was about to go to his room. As if sensing the tight atmosphere, he quietly moved to the dinner table, and sat in front of the two of us.

"Why do you go out at night after we sleep?" My wife asked.

"...What do you mean?" Rikuo smiled quietly, and tilted his head.

"Don't pretend to not know. We don't see you going out, but your bed is always empty when we check."

"..."

Rikuo's smile crumpled. Once he found that he could't talk his way out under my wife's sharp eyes, he averted his gaze down wards, and stopped talking. I tried to make eye contact with him, but the shine in the glasses that he had recently started wearing (even if his sight was perfectly fine) prevented me from doing so. But, like us, he seemed to be tense, and nervous.

The silence was heavy.

I started getting impatient, wondering if he was going to stay silent until we let it go. Just as I was about to ask again for my wife, Rikuo stood up abruptly.

"Rikuo, we're still talking!" I called out half standing, as he turned his back to us and walked towards the door. Was he going to walk out on us?

"...Dad, Mom. There's... I've been keeping a secret from you."

Rikuo stopped at the door and faced us. He stared at my wife and I, both standing at this point. Then he averted his gaze once more, took off his glasses, and dropped them to the floor.

What caught our eyes however, were not the glasses hitting the floor, but Rikuo's eyes, clearer without the glasses.

Rikuo's eyes were always a warm brown that was on the amber side. The eyes we saw now were red like garnets.

By the time that his glasses hit the floor with a high pitched clang, the fluffy, short brown had turned into smooth, silk-like silver strands, and his large amber eyes turned into sharper, and narrower garnet eyes that seemed to overwhelm you if one were to stare into them too long. His shorter than average statute grew as tall as my average for a Japanese man's height. As his clothes somehow turned from his blue pajamas into a black kinagashi, his delicate appearance seemed to turn into a muscular, yet well toned slim body. Now, he seemed to be a young man, older than fifteen.

"At night, ...I turn into a Yokai" he said in a deeper voice.

A young man, with features that seemed too perfect to be human, stood before us.

He observed us, while were were too surprised to speak, he narrowed his eyes, and bitterly smiled in self-derision.

"Don't worry. I'll leave you guys immed..."

"Oh, my! Ri-kun, you're so handsome now!" He was cut off by my wife.

"...Ha?"

When I looked at my wife, her eyes were shining, as if she was a young girl, who has found a prince on a white horse. With slightly pink cheeks, she moved closer to Rikuo.

"You change so much as a Yokai! Your eyes and hair are really pretty! Your cloths even turned into a kimono, that is so cool! My, your height is about the same as your father's! Oh, but take those setta? off in the house. And you shouldn't throw your glasses like that, even if they're not real."

"Oh. ...Sorry Mom." Rikuo apologized, taking off his setta to walk in his tabi, and picked up his glasses, and store it in to the folds of his kimono. I almost laughed at Rikuo's actions, but held it in and moved next to my wife.

"...Wait, that's what you're concerned about? I'm a Yokai? Aren't you surprised, or afraid, or think I'm freaky, or anything!?"

Rikuo exclaimed, backing away slightly as we moved closer without fear.

"Of course we were surprised." My wife smiled.

I coughed a little to get his attention.

"Rikuo, since the time I found you in the woods, I was prepared for many things. I'm actually revealed to know you are a Yokai. It makes sense. But even if you were Yokai, human, or something else ...Rikuo, you are our son. That will never change. Remember that."

I stated confidently, staring into his eyes, and my wife continued after me.

"That's right Rikuo, you're our precious child. So please ...Rikuo, don't be so frightened."

"...!"

Rikuo's eyes widened gasping a little as he listened to our words. He quickly turned around, and hid his face from us.

"...Thank you... Dad, Mom..."

He said in a very thin voice, and both of us saw his ears turn as red as a boiled octopus. My wife smiled with joy at the sight, and I put a great effort into hiding my smile.

This night, we truly became a family.


	3. Living As Mizuki Rikuo

The Nura Rikuo that had lived for 500 years in the yokai world is living in this world as Mizuki Rikuo.

I don't know how this happened.

When I woke up, I was in a rainy dark forest. I was not even in my familiar yokai's body, but in a human infant's body that hadn't even reached one year of age yet. Before I woke up, I remember sitting on the porch, quietly drinking sake and watching the weeping cherry tree and the moon. I thought it must have been a dream at first, and stared up vacantly at the sky. But the harsh blows of the rain and the coldness confirmed that it was not a dream.

I began to crawl around on all fours to get myself out of the rain and wind for the time being, when something came crashing down from above. That something rolled down, and landed right where I was a few seconds ago, and almost gave me a heart attack. But with it came a phone, a model so old that it could be as rare as a fossil now days. He remembers the model being used about 450 years ago, back when he still had human friends. He could now see that what came rolling down with the phone was a Japanese human man in his late twenties. He was unconscious, but only for a short while, and woke up with a groan.

A lot had happened, and he ended up adopting me. I won't explain what had happened, that's too troublesome. But I will say that this man, Mizuki, who found me and saved my life is now my father.

Mizuki had a wife, and I learned later that she had an illness that made her unable to bare children, and had welcomed me, a child with no relatives, into the family warmly. She was a very kind, cheerful, and lovely woman. Even if her features are different, she reminded me so much of the mother who gave birth to me, that I was able to call her 'Mom' from my heart. Of course, I called Mizuki 'Dad' too. He was usually stoic and didn't speak much, and seemed like a cold, hard man to be around. But in reality, his face gave a lot away, and was a loving dad and husband that put his family before himself. They were really good people.

It must seem strange that after I shrunk I 'Don't have any relatives' when I have my family (the Nura clan). There is a reason for that. This world was a different world from the one that I stood before the head of all of the Yokai clans as the Lord of Pandemonium.

In the beginning, due to Mizuki's old modeled phone, there was a time I thought I was in the past. But as my body grew older and I had more freedom to move around and conduct some research, I found out that there were things that existed in my world that did not in this. My home in Ukiyo-e town, where I grew up, should have been in Tokyo. I would have understood if it no longer existed due to time, but the time is Heisei right now. The phone models are the same as when I was living in this time, so there should be an Ukiyo-e town. But there wasn't.

That's how I figured that this was a completely different world.

But even if the world is different, the 'Yokai' still existed. Just like my world, they lived in the shadows, forgotten by humans. If the yokai didn't exist either, what a sad existence I would have had, being one fourth yokai.

But the first time I saw the yokai in this world and interacted with them, I understood. The blood that flows in my veins are of a yokai completely different from the yokai of this world. Maybe there are others just like me in this world, but I was almost certain that I did not have any blood relatives, nor any one of the same species in this world.

I realized that I was truly alone in this world. But it was still a relief to know that those called yokai still existed.

Eight years passed being the adopted son of the two Mizukis, with loneliness that only I understood. Though my young body dragged my old spirit to be somewhat close to a younger one, I could never quite act like an infant, or a young human child. Being a child that did not act like one caused the Mizukis to worry, but they still raised me as a human with love and care. I tried harder to act like a normal child for their sake, but it became too embarrassing and troublesome, and I couldn't keep it up.

The night of my eighth birthday, I found out that my yokai blood was awakened, and I could change into my yokai form.

Frequently turning into my night form, it became hard for me to stay still, and I could not contain myself any longer. So, every two or three times a week, I began to go out after the Mizukis went to sleep. It was weird for me too, that when I turn into my night form, my cloths changed, and that I had my sword (or the naga-dosu) by my side. I knew the moment I held it, that this nenekirimaru was not the one that my grandfather gave me, but mine and mine alone. It turned out that I could hold and store it in my human form as well. I didn't think I would be using it as a human, but it's good to be vigilant. How I store it is a trade secret, don't ask.

On the spring break of the year that I found out I could turn into a yokai, I was out for an after lunch walk around town. When I walked by the Shrine, I felt something off about the place, and went to investigate. Looking at the forest behind the shrine, I found a small tunnel that would have appeared in a Ghibli movie. Curious, I went through. When I came out of the long tunnel, I found a vast and beautiful forest. I didn't notice that I had changed into my night form. Turning into a yokai during the day reminded me of the Tono Village. I could feel that the density of yoki (demonic energy) this forest was just like the hidden village, if not greater. That was why I could turn into his night form during the day. I had visited to this shrine as a human, but never after awakening the ability to become yokai. Maybe that was why I could find the forest.

I breathed in the clean air that was lost in the city, and looked around once more. I noticed that the tunnel that was just behind me had disappeared, along with my way home. Right next to me, was a mail box with a triangular top. In front of that was a lake with a tree that looked to be more than 500 years old in the middle. The large tree had a small house-like structure on it.

I walked across the bridge without thinking about it much, and hid my presence as much as I could, climbed up the ladder to peer into the little hut. I could see a small room that could fit about ten people, some dried food hanging from the ceiling. In the middle, I could see a boy wearing an old school uniform and a yellow and black striped vest sleeping on the floor in a curled-up position. This made him look to be slightly younger than my apparent age, and I could see that on the table next to him slept a palm sized eyeball in a bowl of hot water. It was strange that I could tell the eyeball was asleep, even without eyelids.

These two were definitely yokai. The eyeball aside, I could feel a large amount of yoki from the boy. It was stronger than any of the yokai I had met so far in this world. With this much yoki, his life force would be off the charts as well.

I was observing them while using my abilities as Nurarihyon just in case, but I wasn't here to fight. I dispelled my Osore, and I opened my mouth to ask for the way home.

"Oi, who are you. What do you want?"

The boy that was asleep immediately woke up, and his one visible eye glared at me. He was laid down still, but was ready to fight if I were to made one wrong move. If one looked close enough, they could see that his hair was moving, as if with a mind of their own. I discretely moved my hand onto my blade, preparing to fight should the need arise.

The air became heavy. Before now, I never fought with the humans, due to the maturity that came with age. My human form, who doesn't enjoy conflicts would have worked hard to find a way out. But my rough natured yokai form was enjoying the prospect of a fight between two powerful yokai. With the younger body, I could feel myself looking forward for a fight with a strong opponent, but I would prefer this to happen outside.

As the tension built up, the eyeball that was sleeping in its bath woke up, yawning as it sat up. ...so it _does_ have a mouth.

"Oh, I didn't notice I was asleep, the bath felt so good. ...Hm? Kitaro, when did we receive a guest?"

"...Dad. I'm not sure, I just woke up too." The boy, now called Kitaro, got up and moved the eyeball he calls his dad behind him.

"I'll ask you again. Who are you, and what do you want?"

Kill-joy. This fight could have been fun.

"Don't be so tense" I sighed, taking my hand off of Nenekirimaru. "My name is Rikuo. I'm a quarter yokai. I got lost in this forest for some reason. Do you know the way out?"

This was how I met the two residents of the GeGeGe forest, GeGeGe no Kitaro, and his dad, Medama Oyaji.

Even if I couldn't help it (it was in my nature as yokai), I probably didn't make a very good first impression on them, entering their home without permission. But they understood that I was not an enemy, and showed me around the forest to the exit. I kept going back to the forest after school, during my nightly strolls, and on days with no school. As I started to interact with them, I was able to meet some of their other yokai friends, and got familiar with them.

But Kitaro, because of the whole entering his home and my human-like nature even if I was yokai, wouldn't really accept me. It seemed as if he disliked me being human-like more than my breaking and entering. I mean, Nezumiotoko, who was a hanyo used his wits and cunningness to gain money, was more yokai-like, and was on good terms with Kitaro. According to them, it was an unfortunate but inescapable friendship. I have heard about the yokai post where humans ask Kitaro's help against yokai, but it seemed that every time Kitaro gets a letter, he thought of it as a tiresome chore, and only went because his father prompted him to. I have never seen him in the human world, so I don't know how he helps humans.

One time, I had asked Medama Oyaji why they go around helping humans, to which he replied that when Kitaro was an infant, a young man called "Mizuki" had helped them. The act of helping humans, the Oyaji had said, was like giving back to his kindness. Then why was it that Kitaro, who had been saved by a human, seemed to only save them reluctantly?

Now that I think about it, my last name in this world is my father's "Mizuki" so we may not be completely unrelated. But that doesn't mean I have to tell Kitaro that my human name is "Mizuki Rikuo", so during my night form, I called my self just "Rikuo". After all, just because I am a Mizuki, it doesn't mean that Kitaro was suddenly going to open up to me.

But recently, when I was playing Shogi with Konaki-Jiji, I saw Kitaro, who pretended not to be interested, watching the game. So, I got him to play one game against me, which I won. Of course, Kitaro got stubbornly set on winning against me, and after a few rounds, he became less guarded around me. He didn't completely trust me though. I guess I will have to interact with him as if I am interacting with a stray cat. Not too close, but not too far.

Time passed, and these strange, but delightful days continued for years, until day in my sixth-grade year. I noticed my Mom sending me looks, seeming to want to talk about something.

Maybe it's about time. They have caught on that I leave the house at night. I have tried to be discreet, but ever since I got into sixth grade, I have been going out almost every day. It was getting harder to go against my freer yokai nature.

Judging by their mannerism, Dad will probably hold a family meeting soon. Should I deceive them? No, they would see right through it. Is my option then to tell them the truth? But what would they think if the child that they have raised until now turned out to be a yokai? A demon some stories portrayed to be an embodiment of evil?

The Mizukis have raised me for 10 years. For a yokai, it was only 10 years. But from a human, 10 years is a long time. They raised me, a child who didn't act like one, who was not related to them in any way. There is a side of me that hopes they will still love me, even if they knew my true nature. But a larger part of me was afraid that they would be disgusted and abandon me, calling me a monster. I felt an insecurity other than loneliness. So I asked Kitaro, who I was playing Shogi against, that I may end up moving into this forest soon, and if he was okay with me living here.

"Do as you please." He had said. "You always do whatever you want, why would you ask for permission to live here now?"

My face must have gone slack with surprise at Kitaro's blunt words. Kitaro stopped staring at the Shogi board and drew his eyebrows together, as if in a bad mood.

"...what?"

I couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped me.

"Nothing, nothing... Thanks." I said, and I moved one of my pieces.

"...Checkmate"

"What!?~~~ugh! Fine! you win!"

Do as you please. Those words must have not meant much to Kitaro. But to me, it was shocking that he said that. When I do as I please, the one who gets irritated most of the time is Kitaro himself. But if he is telling me to do so, then that must mean that he has accepted me as I was, at least a little.

Kitaro's father smiled down at his son, who had shown a clumsy form of kindness, likely without recognizing it as such himself. Watching Kitaro, who seemed frustrated at losing to me again, I was able to face a little of my anxiety within my heart.

Then came the day that would change everything.

Telling my adoptive parents and seeing them speechless, I tried to leave the house before my heart could be hurt even more. But something happened that I hadn't predicted.

The Mizukis accepted that I could change into a yokai. And they still loved me as their son.

I almost cried as my father looked at me in the eye and told me so. Even if I'm such an old grandpa on the inside, my eyes collected tears. Those of you who think that it's because I'm old that I got prone to crying can shut up.

What a lucky guy am I to have a family that loves me, even with all of my strangeness. I couldn't be more thankful that Dad was the one to find me on that fateful day.

That night, I didn't go out on my usual walks. I talked with the Mizukis until the moment they went to sleep, and went to bed in my night form.

The next night, the Mizukis decided to allow my nightly walks, understanding the nature of my yokai side. When I let them know I was going, Mom gave me snacks that go well with tea to bring to my yokai friends. Now that I think about it, I never brought them anything when I visited.

The snacks were a huge hit. According to Nekomusume, who was more accustomed to the modern human ways, the snacks were the most popular product from a famous Japanese confectionery store.

The next morning, when I told Mom in my human form that the snacks were greatly appreciated, she was very pleased. From that day on, she gave me little packages of different snacks and gifts to bring on my walks. The package usually contained small snacks she either bought or made, high quality tea for Medama Oyaji's baths, and some side dishes that went well with sake. It was very unexpected that Kitaro, who seemed to dislike humans, turned out to be the one most excited about the small gifts from my human Mom. His eyes shined every time I brought packages with me, and his expression seemed to soften a little. In contrast, it was so entertaining to see how disappointed he would get when the package didn't contain food. I didn't say anything as to not ruin my entertainment.

Thanks to my Mom's gifts, I was able to form some kind of friendship with Kitaro, and we started to talk more. One night, eating the Manju that my Mom made, the conversation turned into how I would live in the future. Personally, I told him that I wanted to live life as both human and yokai at the same time. Once he finished listening to me, Kitaro glanced at his sleeping father, and answered me in a colder tone than usual.

"I disagree with such an indecisive way of living."

"Indecisive, you say... and the reason?" I asked, curious to hear his side.

"Right now, you have humans who accept you as you are, which allows you to live both lives. But as you outlive these people, who truly understand you, and you have no guarantee that you will meet humans like that again. Even if you were lucky enough to find some, your yokai blood will force you to part ways with them and you will end up alone once more." He explained to me in a hard, monotone voice that was contradicted by the small flicker of sadness in his one visible eye.

"On top of that, human society hate abnormalities. Once they find out that you are not what they call 'normal', they will terminate you without mercy. It's easier and better to live as yokai than to experience that."

I was most likely smiling a little bitterly, as he looked at me in the eye.

"Rikuo, this is a warning." He said clearly. "If you chose to live like that, there will no doubt come a time where you would have to choose one or the other."

Yokai or human, one or the other. I had to make the same, cruel decision in my original world. That time, I chose the yokai's way of living to protect my plan. Even so, I was able to change into my day form, and interact with humans. But after living more than a hundred years, all of the humans who truly knew my past were gone. Maybe it was out of sadness, that my yokai blood became stronger, and I lived as a full yokai for the rest of my life. No one can beat the flow of time. Even in this world, there will come a time that I have to make the same decision.

But I can't change how I live now.

"Then when the time comes" I said with a smile. "I'll have you help me, GeGeGe no Kitaro-San~"

"Ha?" Kitaro scoffed. "No way. Why do _I_ have to save _you_?"

"How cold. Aren't we friends?" I bumped his shoulder with mine. "Help out a friend when he's in trouble."

He looked at me with a small smirk.

"You sometimes say the same things Nezumiotoko would say."

I sat up a bit, an over exaggerated hurt expression on my face.

"Oi-oi, I can't let that pass. Don't compare me to him. Unlike Nezumiotoko, my intentions are purely based on being able to rely on a friend."

"Nope. Exactly the same. You're probably calculated all of this out."

I chuckled. "So mean. You hurt my feelings."

I am a quarter between human and Nurarihyon. Slipping past guards and into peoples' hearts is part of what's ingrained in our nature. I love both yokai and ningen, and the way of living where I can travel between both worlds makes me who I am.

Even with the inevitable deep sorrow that may come to erase my ningen parts, I can't and won't stop how I live my 'Now'.

Though I feel bad for not listening to my kind friend who had warned me in fear of me being hurt, this is the one thing that I cannot give up.


	4. The Famous Mizuki-Kun

"You're taking that to the office, right? I'll carry half of it."

Someone spoke as I was carrying files to the front office.

"Huh? Oh, thanks..."

I said, even as a brown haired boy took half of my files away. He smiled, as I thanked him. I felt heat rise to my face, as the boy helped me. But I noticed something right as I was about to reach the office, and stopped.

"Hey... are you the famous Mizuki? The one who would do troublesome or boring things for people willingly?"

"I don't know if I was famous, but I am a Mizuki"

He confirmed with a grin. Mizuki was a person famous for doing things that many wouldn't want to willingly. Apparently, he helps people in need, and is labeled as a 'good' person.

"You didn't know? You're famous as the 'good person' who does jobs that are boring, and ones people normally wouldn't want to do!"

"Huh... I didn't know I was that famous. I'm a little embarrassed now..."

Mizuki-kun scratched his cheeks a little. "But don't mistake 'good person' with servant, ok?"

I let out a small laugh. "I would never... Have some people tried?"

"Yeah, well. Some tried to make me do their homework, or make me buy juice and bread with my money, or even just to give them money or go steal for them." Rikuo sighed. "I explained to them clearly, so that even a kinder-gardener would understand why that's not ok. It's such an embarrassment, middle-schoolers acting like this."

'Mizuki' is a very famous person in their school. A good guy that does jobs people don't want to, or helps others when they need it. Some call him 'teacher's pet', or a 'hypocrite', but that didn't seem like the case to me. He really seemed to be a good person inside, as he told me about some of the things people tried to make him do with a dark smile.

"O, Oh... Ah, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Inuyama Mana. You're in the next class over from me. Thank you for holding half of my notes."

Mizuki-kun smiled kindly.

"Nice to meet you too, Inuyama-san. Don't worry about it, I wanted to help you. I can't make you carry such a heavy load by yourself."

"Aww, you're such a gentleman! I bet girls really like you?" I gushed. I couldn't help it, none of the boys I hang out with acts this mature. It made me respect him even more.

"No, no. It's normal to help people in need."

Our conversation ended when we got to the teacher's room. As we let the books down, another teacher called Mizuki-kun over, and asked him to do something. It's amazing how even teachers depend on him.

"I'll see you around Inuyama-san. Just ask, if you need help."

"Yup! Thanks again, Mizuki-kun!"

I left the room in a good mood. Oh, how I wish the other boys would follow a good example like him. Such a great person.

She never knew. She didn't know that in the close future, she would see a side of Rikuo that no one else in school knows about.


	5. Character Settings

Nura Rikuo= Mizuki Rikuo

Used to be the Sandaime of the Nura clan. He retired, and had his son take up his position as the clan head. His grand son is supposedly leading it now. He was lazily watching the time pass by when he suddenly found himself in the middle of a dark, rainy forest in the body of an infant.

He becomes the foster son of Mizuki, who fell off a small cliff in the forest. Mizuki had supposedly followed the cries of a baby and found Rikuo, but Rikuo never shed a tear that day. Then who did those cries belong to?

His foster mom closely resembles his mother, Wakana, with her bright and kind personality. Mizuki is a man of little words, but he loves deeply, and is not intimidated by many things.

Rikuo's foster dad is a descendant of the Mizuki that saved Kitaro.

Rikuo has his memories from before, but his mental age was also slightly de-aged by his young body. His yoki and powers were also weakened as his body lacks the training. He can mostly use his powers as Nura Rikuo, but they still can and need to be trained to regain his full strength.

He can't do Matoi (鬼纏) no matter how much he trusts another yokai from this new world. His existence is an irregularity, and he will never be able to truly merge with the yokai in this life.

When Rikuo was eight, his yokai blood was awakened, and he started to change into his night form at least once every day at midnight. He tried to suppress the transformation in the beginning, but he couldn't hold back his nature any longer. He started to sneak out on walks at night. For some reason, he found his Naga-dosu at his side after his abilities came back.

On the spring of his eighth year in the new world (8 years old), he found a small tunnel made from the trees in the woods behind the old shrine. Out of curiosity, he went in and found the GeGeGe forest. The forest was dense in yoki, just like the Tono village. Rikuo finds Kitaro and Medama Oyaji in the GeGeGe house, and waited until they woke up. When Kitaro woke up, he almost mistook Rikuo for an enemy, but Medama Oyaji waking up providing an opportunity for Rikuo to explain himself. From then on, he kept coming back to the forest, and made friends with almost everyone except Kitaro.

When he got into middle school, his foster parents find out he had been sneaking out at night. Once asked why, he grudgingly showed his night form. Rikuo had been planning on moving into the GeGeGe forest when he was found out, but his family accepted him as is, and gave him permission to keep going on nightly walks.

When he told his foster mom about his other yokai friends, she started making small gifts for Rikuo to bring with him. Some of what she provided were home made, and others were from a traditional confectionery store. Even Kitaro, who was still very wary and distant from Rikuo, was baited. He is also secretly looking forward to the small treats, and every time Rikuo brings something, his eyes light up and expression softens. Rikuo will never tell him about this, because he enjoys these moments.

Rikuo was able to rank up his position from knowing about each other to friends, due to the 'bait a very guarded Kitaro with food' plan. He feels accomplished about this.

While he chose the yokai world in his last life, he still traveled between both human and yokai realms. However, in the end, Rikuo stopped associating with the human world, and started living as a full blooded yokai. Although he knows he will end up making the same decision in this world, Rikuo still tries to live between both worlds in this life too. Kitaro disapproves of this way of living. He warned Rikuo that there will come a time when he is forced to choose. Kitaro secretly doesn't want Rikuo to go through the pain of being rejected (or even worse, hurt) by the human world, though he will never admit it.

While Inuyama Mana is in a different class and they didn't know each other, Rikuo helps her carry notes to the teachers' room. This causes them to be friends. Rikuo doesn't know who Mana is, but Mana knows about Rikuo as the famous 'good guy'.

Similar to his last life, Rikuo in his human form volunteers to do most jobs others hate doing, and helps others who are troubled. Although he is known throughout the school as a 'good guy', he definitely doesn't do others' dirty works. Rikuo thoroughly corrects those who try to push their tasks onto him. He is a 'good guy', but is scary when he is angry.

Rikuo and Kitaro have not met in the human world yet, so Kitaro doesn't know what Rikuo's human form looks like. Similarly, Mana doesn't know his night form.

* * *

A/N: This is all that she has written. If she adds anything else, I will translate that too. If you want to continue the series using this premise, please do so, but leave a link so that I can both see it, and show it to the original Japanese author of this work.


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